Outdoor Activities ...
As we travel, we like to pursue some of our interests (such as astronomy and bird watching).
When in Hills Ferry, we use the following websites to find information relevant to Hills Ferry and the surrounding area.
- Weather ...
- Before heading outdoors, you should check the weather:
- The National Weather Service forecast for Hills Ferry
- Astronomy & Satellites ...
- Whether using binoculars, a small telescope or the naked-eye, the Heavens-Above website can help you to find your way around the night-time sky. In addition to detailed sky charts, their website will help you find planets, asteriods, comets, satellites and their tracks across the sky.
- To give accurate results, Heavens-Above requires the latitude and longitude of your location. As a starting point, when we link to Heavens-Above, we pass this GPS location for Hills Ferry:
- 37.348826, -120.979650
- Once you're on the Heavens-Above website, you can improve its accuracy by giving a more precise longitude and latitude as your actual position.
- The Heavens-Above Website, centered on Hills Ferry
- Bird Watching ...
- We enjoy finding new spots for bird watching and we use the eBird website for local sighting reports and to help identify hotspots.
- The eBird website is organized on a county-by-county basis. We have selected Stanislaus County as the starting point when you click on the link below:
- eBird sighting report for Stanislaus County
- Since Hills Ferry is near Merced County and also San Joaquin County, we have provided a link to their eBird sighting reports:
- eBird sighting report for Merced County
- eBird sighting report for San Joaquin County
- Waymarking ...
- Looking for somewhere out of the ordinary? Find a unique place and want to share it with others? Then it's time to visit Waymarking.com:
- Waymark.com
Curious and Interesting Names Near Hills Ferry ...
As we travel, we always see a community with a name that gives pause. While there are names which are interesting or familiar, some catch our attention or strike our fancy. We always wonder about such a name. If time permits and the community is not too far, we'll usually try to make a side-trip.
- Arena
(16 miles [25.7 km] to the east) - Aurora
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the north) - Castle Gardens
(21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)- Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Castle Gardens have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Castle Gardens
- Castle Gardens is located in Merced County
- Crows Landing
(5 miles [8 km] to the northwest)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Crows Landing
- Crows Landing is located in Stanislaus County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Crows Landing <2>
- Empire
(20 miles [32.2 km] to the north)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Empire
- Empire is located in Stanislaus County
- Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Empire <2>
- Harp
(15 miles [24.1 km] to the north) - Hatch
(9 miles [14.5 km] to the north) - Irwin
(7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast) - Jet
(8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest) - Volta
(17 miles [27.4 km] to the south)- Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Volta
- Volta is located in Merced County
How Far From Hills Ferry to ...
We spend a lot of time looking through Gazetteers, Almanacs & Directories that were published in the late 1800's and early 1900's. Many of the Gazetteers include the distance from a community such as Hills Ferry to various places of note, such as the White House.
With a nod to our favorite Gazetteers, the straight-line distance<3> beginning in Hills Ferry and extending to:
- Modesto, which is the Seat of Stanislaus County, lies 21 miles [33.8 km]<3> to the north. If you could walk a straight line from Hills Ferry to Modesto, with an average speed<4> of 2.2 miles [3.5 km] per hour, it would take just over a day to make the trip. A horse and buggy averaging 3.2 miles [5.1 km] per hour would take most of a day.
- Sacramento, which is the State Capital of California, lies 89 miles [143.2 km] to the north northwest (NNW). Driving, with an average speed of 63 miles [101.4 km] per hour, would take less than two hours, a buggy would take most of three days and walking would take 5 days.
- The White House (Washington, DC) is 2,366 miles [3,807.7 km] to the east northeast (ENE). Driving would take 5 days, a buggy would take 93 days and walking would take 135 days.
- The shortest distance<5> to Jerusalem (specifically the Temple Mount and the Dome of the Rock) is 7,415 miles [11,933.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<6>
- The distance to the Great Mosque of Mecca (specifically the Ka'bah - or Kaaba ) is 8,183 miles [13,169.3 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<7>
- The distance to Saint Peter's Basilica (The Vatican) is 6,220 miles [10,010.1 km] and it lies to the north northeast (NNE).<8>
Off-the-Road Links ...
Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Hills Ferry. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.
The official website for Stanislaus County: www.co.stanislaus.ca.us/
The official website for State of California: https://www.ca.gov/
Footnotes ...
| <1> | The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required. |
| <2> | While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program. |
| <3> | Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'point-to-point' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Hills Ferry) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Hills Ferry. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 37.3488, Longitude: -120.9797 In this case, the coordinates for Hills Ferry have been provided by the Geographic Names Information System (GNIS). |
| <4> | While we have tried to pick reasonable speeds, the rate of travel is very theoretical - obstacles like fences, hills, lakes, river crossings and rest stops have been ignored. When we say 'Days' of travel, we're assuming 8 hours of travel per day. |
| <5> | The shortest line can be visualized by stretching a string on a Globe from Point A to Point B - this is known as a Great Circle Route. Where you might expect the shortest route from Hills Ferry to the Middle East to be East and South, the Great Circle Route actually lies to the North and East. |
| <6> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Jerusalem is 338.945 degrees. |
| <7> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to Mecca is 339.617 degrees. |
| <8> | The calculated bearing (or angle) to the Vatican is 327.283 degrees. |